Are you a rider, yanker or lifter?

I've been getting a little obsessed about gauge recently. One of my students wants to make crochet socks and we told each other we'd make gauge swatches in advance of the next workshop. I don't swatch very much apart from when the size matters but I know I should really do it more often. Swatching is a sensible thing to do to make sure you don't run out of yarn too. And designers make gauge swatches to find out if the yarn suits their pattern. I do always ask my students to swatch though. It IS good practice. They shouldn't be reckless just because I am!

 

My quick 10 stitch 5 rows single crochet swatches
trying out riding, yanking and lifting.

Changing gauge to accommodate differences in width is simple - just go up or down a hook size. But what about height? In making the gauge swatch for my socks my 23 rows are only 8 cms tall (it's a British pattern) instead of the 10 cms the pattern designer has given for the swatch height.

So I've been hunting around online on see if there is a fix. I have a sneaking suspicion that my stitches have always been too short historically. But usually this doesn't matter because the pattern says work pattern rows until the item measures however many inches.

A post by Marty Miller on her Crochet Doctor blog: What else affects gauge gave me some ideas on what I should try. Marty is a crochet designer, author, tech editor, and teacher - both locally and nationally. She is also a Craftsy instructor with a rather exciting looking class on Mastering Foundation Crochet Stitches.

Marty gives a lot of helpful advice here and I found out that yanking my yarn to tighten the loop on the hook or letting my hook rest on the top of the stitch below could be my issue, causing my stitches to be too short. I should lift my hook up, above the stitch below, to give the yarn some "breathing space" and keep my hook almost parallel to the top of the stitch below.  I tried it and it worked! Yay.

I just realized that I have made a pattern by Marty Miller recently. It was in the latest edition of Interweave Crochet Spring 2016 (the 10th birthday collector's edition no less) and I made it as a sample for the yarn store where I work. It turned out really really well. Check it out on Ravelry: The Rufflier Scarf. Here is my version.

And then I found a fascinating video tutorial by crochet designer Deja Jetmir on her Crochet Ever After blog with further information. Deja has over 400 tutorials on youtube - a fantastic learning resource.

 Deja describes "the Golden Loop Method" of altering gauge height: Fixing gauge when height is incorrect aka Golden Loop Method. The golden loop is the first one that you pull up and how you deal with this first loop makes a big difference to the height of your stitch. Watch it to find out if you're a rider, a yanker or a lifter!

Book Review: Crochet Master Class

I sold one of my personal crochet books to one of my workshop student this week and feeling a little bereft - my crochet books are like dear friends - decided to treat myself to a replacement. My local Barnes and Noble bookstore has a wonderful selection of crochet books and being rather particular and not a big shopper I find I need to have a good look before I buy.  

 

 

 

Advanced crochet techniques: Tunisian crochet, Hairpin lace,
Filet crochet and Double-ended crochet clockwise from top left

The book that stood out on the shelf was Crochet Master Class by Jean Leinhauser and Rita Weiss published in 2010 by Potter/TenSpeed/Harmony. It features eighteen crochet techniques each taught by an innovative master crocheter. These super talented master teachers have found new ways to use their hooks or resurrected old techniques. These are the celebrities who keep our craft alive and truly inspire me! I linked the names to their Ravelry profiles where I was able to find them.

We read the story of how each master started out. This is particularly fascinating to me because a creative career is never straightforward as you probably know! Each master then provides instruction on how to do the technique and then includes a project which was written specially for this book. The pattern is helpfully rated by the skill level needed from beginner to experienced so that you can pick one that is suitable for your skill level. The projects are simply inspiring. I am finding it difficult knowing which one to start with.

I am familiar with some of techniques thanks to the second Craft Yarn Council teaching certificate I took. I made swatches of Tunisian crochet (Julia Bryant), Hairpin lace (Jennifer Hansen), Double-ended crochet (Darla J. Fenton) and Filet crochet (Harmut Hass) as part of the course. My samples are above clockwise from top left. I just realized after taking this photo that I also made a Tapestry crochet (Carol Ventura) swatch - it's called Fair Isle crochet too.

A student asked me to teach her Bead crochet (Lydia Borin) so I had to teach myself first! I loved it. And I have a little experience in making the crochet cables that are involved in Aran crochet (Jane Snedden Peever) too. Such fun!

The other techniques in the book are brand new to me and I can't wait to try them out:

• Woven crochet (Jenny King)
• Entrelac crochet (Joyce Wyatt)
• Fashion crochet (Margaret Hubert)
• Tassels (Nancy Nehring) 
• Bullion stitch (Bonnie Pierce)
• Overlay crochet (Melody MacDuffee)
• Bruges crochet (Tatyana Mirer)
• Painted crochet (Ferosa Harold)
• Free-form crochet (Prudence Mapstone)
• Irish crochet (Maire Treanor)
• Wire crochet (Nancie Wiseman)

This book would be ideal for anyone who like me has a good grasp of all the basics and wants to challenge themselves with a new technique. There is nothing like a bit skill-building in the craft you love. The book also contains a refresher course in crochet in the back pages so if you were a little rusty but keen you could have a go at that and then pick one of the techniques with a beginner rated accompanying project. Yay! Everyone is happy :)